Department for Education

Department for Education: Food

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total amount of food waste generated by DfE offices for each of the last five years.

viscount younger of leckie: The amount of waste disposed of by composting or anaerobic digestion over each of the last five years was as follows: 2012-13: 25 tonnes2013-14: 16 tonnes2014-15: 24 tonnes2015-16: 17 tonnes2016-17: 15 tonnes The majority of this was food waste (which includes inedible waste such as fruit peel and coffee grounds) but also includes other compostable waste such as tissue paper.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Service: Recruitment

lord ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions the Secretary of State for Justice has had with the Prison Officers' Association regarding recruitment and retention in the Prison Service, and when he next plans to meet staff representatives.

baroness vere of norbiton: Much communication has taken place between the Secretary of State and the Prison Officers’ Association through written correspondence. The Secretary of State spoke with the POA on 21 June 2017 and met with them on 29 June 2017 to discuss several important subjects, including Prison Officer recruitment and retention. The Prisons Minister also plans to meet with the POA on 23 October 2017.

Prison and Probation Service: Mental Health Services

lord ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Secretary of State for Justice has made of the current provision of mental health assessments and treatment in the prison and probation systems.

baroness vere of norbiton: We take mental health provision very seriously and are committed to working closely with health partners to ensure that offenders are assessed at the appropriate time and are able to access the treatment and support required for their mental health needs.Health services in English prisons are commissioned by NHS England. In the community, NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups are responsible for commissioning health services, including mental health services, for the general population in their locality, including offenders on probation. NHS England are responsible for making assessments of the current provision of mental health assessments and treatment in the prison systems in England. We are committed to working closely with them to support this responsibility. Mental Health is devolved to the Welsh Government and NHS Wales. Local Health Boards are commissioned to deliver these services in public sector prisons in Wales, which includes mental health assessments and treatment. There are separate arrangements for the private prison HMP Parc.

Detainees

lord tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK citizens are currently held in prisons in England and Wales (1) in detention without charge, and (2) without a date set for trial; and how manynon-UK EU citizens are similarly detained.

baroness vere of norbiton: UK citizens are not normally detained in prison without charge. The number of UK citizens on remand awaiting trial as of 30 June 2017 was 5,242. It is not possible to state the numbers of these individuals who do not have a date set for trial because this data is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Individuals who are subject to extradition for charges brought by other jurisdictions can be held in prison pending extradition. As at 30 June 2017, the number of people in prison pending extradition was 105, of which 84 were non-UK EU nationals.Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) who have served a sentence may continue to be held in prison beyond their sentence end date under immigration powers pending removal from the United Kingdom. As at 30 June 2017, the number of FNOs held in prison under immigration powers was 448 (including 122 non-UK EU nationals). The Government is absolutely committed to increasing the number of FNOs removed from our prisons, and any foreign national who comes to our country and is sentenced to prison should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them. Increasing removals is one of our top priorities and all FNOs sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office at the earliest opportunity to be considered for deportation.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 15 February (HL5165),whatare thegreenhouse gas emissions targets, broken downby local authority; andwhat assessment they have made of progress against each of those targets over the last seven years.

lord prior of brampton: Local Authorities are not mandated to have greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets. However, many cities and places have set their own targets following the Paris Agreement. Over 30 places are members of international agreements such as the Covenant of Mayors and, within the UK, over 70 places have now signed up to UK100 with a political commitment to use 100% clean energy by 2050.The Government has recently announced support for every Local Enterprise Partnership to develop their own energy strategy and we are developing plans to support local places to build the capacity to deliver more local low carbon projects across England over the next two years.

Foreign Investment in UK: National Security

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what checksare in place to monitor the safeguarding of UK national security each time aforeign firm invests in the UK.

lord prior of brampton: Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Government has powers to intervene in mergers on the grounds of national security. The Act sets out the processes which are followed in such cases.More generally, the Government considers carefully any national security issues raised by foreign investments on a case by case basis.The Government published a Green Paper, ‘National Security and Infrastructure Investment Review’, on Tuesday 17 October setting out its review of current powers and how these might be amended in the short, and long, term to ensure national security is protected. The Government welcomes respondents’ views on its proposals and options for reform.The Green Paper is available on Gov.uk and in the Libraries of the House.

Foreign Investment in UK: National Security

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetherthey haveany plans to introduce a dedicated body with responsibility for scrutinising those foreign investments which may impact on national security.

lord prior of brampton: The Government published a Green Paper, ‘National Security and Infrastructure Investment Review’, on Tuesday 17 October setting out its review of current powers and how these might be amended in the short, and long, term to ensure national security is protected. The Government welcomes respondents’ views on its proposals and options for reform.The Green Paper is available on Gov.uk and in the Libraries of the House.